Monday, December 15, 2014

Fishing With Trish...


Question: Do you ever feel like not witnessing?


Answer: Yes, and I have many perfectly legitimate reasons not to. Like, I’m too busy, it’s too cold, I’m tired, I don't have anything to wear, someone else will witness to them, and besides I have 100 emails in my inbox that I must tend to. The list goes on and on. In fact, this list seems to pop up in my mind every week right before we head out to our regular fishing hole.  Suddenly my staying at home seems so cozy. Grabbing a warm blanket and some super sweet hot chocolate sounds better than being at the mall with a bunch of teenagers that don’t want to hear about Jesus. Every single excuse in the book rises up. 

One Friday night I decided to go witnessing with a couple of friends from church and we invited someone new to come along with us. When Jessica walked into my house she looked like she had seen a ghost.  She was really uncomfortable. I thought maybe my house had a foul smell or that maybe something green was stuck in my teeth. "Maybe she just had a bad day", I concluded. I found after our evangelism night that she was absolutely terrified to share the gospel, which surprised me since she seemed like such a confident person. Then more information came out. When she received our text message inviting her to come along with us to share the Gospel she was totally overcome with fear. That same day she had some bad news come in regarding her job too. Talk about a double whammy! During the car ride to the mall you could tell she was off kilter. She quietly followed us around the mall observing our encounters with people. Towards the end of our time there, I nudged her to pass out a tract. She did it with flying colors and said, “Wow…that wasn’t too bad.” On the car ride back home, we sat in the back seat together and her entire countenance had changed. Her face was brighter and she looked over at me with a smile and said, “It was the best thing that I could've done tonight.” 

Many times I feel that way. The words of Mark Spence (Dean of the Biblical School of Evangelism) aptly describe what the evangelism experience can be like, “When we go to share our faith, we leave dragging our heels, but we come home clicking them.”

The next time you have an “excuse” not to share the Gospel read Act 27 and 28. That should help put your perspective right.

1 comment:

Laura Meeks said...

I always WANT to witness, but I NEVER feel like a witness:

Just to encourage you all....
I am the most unlikely person to hand out a gospel tract or ever approach a stranger.
I am definitely a person you would describe as an introvert, in school, I didn't talk, at all. I was not diagnosed (parents didn't do that in the 70's)but I have aspergers which is a mild form of autism. So reaching out to people will never be natural for me, however, when I was saved I was truly born again and have been on the road to recovery ever since.
Through the Holy spirit and reading the word, prayer and persistence, I go....

Because this IS the most important thing I can do, the most needful thing, the reason I live.
To share what I have been given, the Great Good news with others.

I have a fishing hole I go to every week, the bowling alley. Now bowlers are usually nice folks in general, and my husband and I bowl while we are there, (so the owners don't mind me bothering the other bowlers)I do get rejections of the the tracts occasionally, I get "looks", I sometimes will bowl and be packing up and my husband will say "aren't you going to make the rounds and hand out some tracts?"
Now that ^^ and here vv is the most encouraging part:
First, my encouraging husband does not witness with me, does not hand out tracts and is not a believer.
I'm not even worried about that, I am trusting, the Lord is good.
I try and always look for a chance to witness, and speak right up when I can. I always carry tracts to give and leave everywhere I go. I often go out, to the mall, shopping, local events, just to hand out tracts.
No one at church desires to go with me, (I ask weekly) no one in my family, except my husband (sorta) and so I just keep going.
I go alone.
Not to worry, trusting God is good.